Combination window shade roller bracket and actuating means



Dec. 4, 1951 B. SVIRSKY 2,577,045

- COMBINATION WINDOW SHADE ROLLER BRACKET AND ACTUATING MEANS Filed March 17, 1950 BENZV'EJ JVZRSKI;

Patented Dec. 4, 1951 COMBINATION WINDOW SHADE ROLLER BRACKET AND ACTUATING MEANS Bennett Svirsky, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor of one-half to Armand Montante, Los Angeles,

Calif.

Application March 17, 1950, Serial N 0. 150,145 7 Claims. (01. 160-321) This invention relates to a, combination window shade bracket and shade roller actuating means. Although it is not broadly new in the art to which this invention pertains to provide bracket supported, springless shade rollers and .actuating means for them to adjust the window shade, yet certain defects have hitherto existed in such devices, which it is the object of this invention to overcome. Such devices have hitherto been unnecessarily complicated, expensive to manufacture and not so easy to operate and assemble as is to be desired, and they have required repeated adjustment, after installation.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a springless window shade adjusting means free from the aforementioned defects, which will embody means for operating the shade by one hand only, thus avoiding the use of both hands, as has heretofore usually been necessary. Also by the use of the present device a smoother, unhurried, less noisy operation of the window shade adjusting means is rendered possible. Downward movement of the shade automatically stops upon the operator manually releasing his hold upon the adjusting means. As a result of this automatic stopping of unrolling movement of the shade the operation thereof is facilitated.

Also the device is easier to operate because there is no friction to overcome during the adj ustment of the shade, because the shade roller does not have to be held by spring friction against undesired rotation. Furthermore, by eliminating the friction less force is required to rotate the shade roller.

The invention includes the provision of an improved roller supporting bracket in combination with an improved pulley axially attachable to a window shade roller, said pulley including a sheet metal side portion from which a series of sheet metal protuberances are die-formed so as to project into the groove of thepulley to cooperate with a chain or other flexible connection carrying along its length a series of shouldered elements to cooperate with said die-formed protuberances, thus making said connection usable positively to rotate said pulley together with the shade roller to which it is attached.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, which has been reduced to practice,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device showing it in its mounted position, the lower portion of the operating connection being broken away in order to contract the view.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, an intermediate portion of the operating connection being broken out to contract the length of the View. In this view dotted lines indicate the deflected, unlocked position of one side run of the operating Connection.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section on angular line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 44 of Fig. 2, the scale being the same as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the novel twopart sheet metal pulley provided by the invention for attachment to an end of a springless shade roller.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a redesigned ourtain mounting bracket.

Referring in detail to the drawing, therein is shown a window shade I 0 having a weight [0a in its lower end portion which causes the shade to unroll by gravity when permitted to do so. An operating pulley l l is attached to one end of the shade roller l2, said roller being of a springless type. The upper end portion of said shade is attached to said roller in the usual manner, the latter being rotatably supported between sheet metal brackets 13 and M attached to the wall at opposite sides of a Window opening.

Said bracket l3, shown separately in Fig. 5, resembles somewhat the conventional bracket hitherto used at that end of the shade roller which is last put into place and has leading downwardly into it an elongated recess 13a the inner end of which forms a bearing for one of the trunnions of the shade roller. Said bracket l3 has been redesigned by providing it with a flange 13b to guide the adjacent end of the shade Ii] so that it will not override the adjacent end of the roller.

The aforesaid bracket [4 is constructed of sheet metal shaped according to the principles of this invention, having, in addition to an attaching flange l5 and an outwardly projecting body portion 16, a downwardly extending apron portion I! forming a continuation of and lying in the same vertical plane as said body portion l6, said apron having a concave front edge Ila. Said bracket l4 also has, continuous with the outer end of its said body portion 16, a flange [8 which is rightangularly deflected toward the window shade, this flange having a backwardly arcuated downward extension l9 which forms a resilient tongue. That side edge of said tongue which is farthest from the window shade is slightly spaced outwardly from the aforesaid concave edge Ila of the apron H, so that a narrow, arcuate slot 2! results, which is best shown in Fig. 2. In making this bracket said slot 2i is cut out by the die at the time it is used to cut the bracket out of the parent sheet.

The lower end of the aforesaid apron I1 is provided with a horizontal foot flange 22, also di-' rected toward the window shade, said flange 22 being located'directly behind the lower end portion of the aforesaid extension or tongue I9 when the mounted device is viewed from the front. Into the front edge of said foot flange 22 is cut a generally V-shaped recess 23, the apex portion of this recess being so shaped as to form a narrow throat 24, best shown in Fig. 4, said throat 6 3 having substantially parallel sides and. a rounded inner end 24a. Said apron ll depends from only about the front half of the body portion it of the bracket l4, leaving behind said apron a rightangular recess Mac, the utility of which will hereinafter appear.

The shade roller 12 has secured. to one of its ends a ferrule 25 provided at its outer end with a radial peripheral flange 26 which is so shaped as to form one side of the aforesaid pulley ll,-the opposite side of said pulley being formed by a dish shaped disk 21 the bottom portion of" which, in the assembled structure, abuts against the adjacent-end of the roller [2 and against the surrounding mouth portion 28 of theaforesaid ferrule 25. The bottom of said member 21 is centrally apertured to admit a pointed pin 29- driven axially into the end portion of the roller I2 :to secure the pulley structure thereto. About the outer third 29a of said pin 29 is diametrically enlarged, thus forming an annular shoulder 8i which, when the pin is driven in, abuts the apertured part of the bottom of the dish shaped member 27 to hold said member in place. The outer end portion of said pin projects turnably through a bearing aperture 32 provided for it in the bracket body I6, the pin carrying an integral or secured. collar 33 positioned to abut against the inner side of the apertured part of said bracket body'thus to maintain a clearance between it and the outer pulley forming member 21.

The already mentioned ferrule flange 2'6 has die-pressed into it a circumferentially extending series of radial, tooth-forming projections or ribs 34 which are directed toward the opposed peripheral portion of the aforesaid dish shaped member 27. The pulley is thus made to function as a sprocket wheel to be rotated in a positive manner by a presently to be described flexible connection. provided along its length with a series of sections which interlock with the teeth. formed by said ribs.

An. endless flexible connection 35 is looped around the pulley structure which has been described, for use in controlling the rotation of the shade roller and for looking it against unwinding the shade after the latter has been adjusted at the desired height. is shown comprising a cord or wire 36 having secured to it a series of spaced apart globular, metallic balls 31 which, in cooperation with the pulley structure, function after the manner of Said. connection shade roller 53 throat- 24. yet" the operator may swing said outer run out to the dotted line position thereof (Figs. 2 and 4), thus releasing the endless connection so that it can be used to rotationally operate the [2. It will be seen that the aforementioned arcuate .tongue H3 is positioned to deflect inwardly the upper part ofthe front run of the endless connection 35, thus insuring that said run will normally be in an interlocking relation to the throat portion 24 of the recess 23.

To put'the endless connection in place upon the roller structure, with one end of said link (the lower end in Fig. 2) attached around a terminal ball on one end of said cord, the opposite end portion of said cord, likewise carrying a terminal ball, will be fed downwardly between the grooved part of the pulley structure and the body portion [6 of the bracket M, as will be best understood by viewing the device as shown in Fig. 2. After said downwardly directed end portion of the cord has been lowered through the wide portion of the recess 23 so that its terminal ball is accessible therebelow the slotted end of the link 38- is connected with said downwardly fed cord end by feeding that part of the cord just above its terminal ball through the aforesaid slot 38a. In order to facilitate the downfeeding of the cord end through sai recess 26 the operator may manually spring farther out the resilient tongue l9, thus widening the space (see Fig. 4) between said tongue and the inner side of said recess 23. Manual outspringing of said tongue is facilitated by providing said tongue with a terminal fingerhold portion 19a which projects slightly-below the recessed edge portion of the aforesaid basal flange 22 of the bracket 14.

The operation of the device will be for the most part clearly understood from the foregoing description, but it will be well to point out here that the aforementioned link 38,- which is used to couple together the ends of the cord 36 to the links of. a sprocket chain, said balls being I spaced apart in accordance with the spacing between the aforesaid tooth-forming ribs of the pulley structure.

The wire cord 26 carries terminal balls '(see Fig. 2) which are connected in properly spaced relation by a link 38' consisting of an endless sheet metal band having an aperture in each'end through which the wire cord passes, each end portion of said band being rounded to conform to the spherical shape of the contained ball.

One of the hemispherical end portions of said link 38 has a narrow slot 3321 which leads from its side to its cord receiving aperture so that the make an endless operating connection, has a special locking function in relation to the pulley around which said connection passes; for, when said link is allowed to move upwardly until it encounters that part of the circumference of the pulley groove which is adjacent to the inner end of the tongue l9, one of the tooth forming ribs 34 will abut against the mid'length part of. said link and will lock. the pulley against rotating in a direction farther to lower the shade. The flexible connection should be so adjusted in relation to the pulley that at such a time the shade will be at the lowest level at which it is ever desired to adjust it, but not so nearly unwound from the roller as to endanger being torn off from the latter. This is a valuable feature of the invention, for it positively prevents the weighted curtain being lowered so far as to be torn off from the roller.

The endless connection 35 will be made of the right length for use in raising and lowering the shade the desired distance and obviously need not resemble a string of beads or balls, for a succession of other shoulder-forming elements may.

. be substituted for the beads or balls without deits groove, the opposite side of said groove being smooth, less noise results when the pulley is rotated by means of the endless connection than would be produced if a double set of teeth were provided.

I claim:

1. In a window shade supporting and adjusting device of the kind described, a shade roller journaled between brackets and by them rotatably supported to have the shade wound upon and unwound from it, a pulley secured axially to said roller and interposed between one end thereof and one of said brackets, said pulley carryin a circumferentially spaced apart series of tooth forming projections, and a strand looped around said pulley, said strand consisting of consecutive sections interlocking with said tooth-forming projections to rotate said pulley, said shade being weighted and tending to gravitate to an unrolled position and one of said brackets having a horizontally directed edge portion provided with a recess into which one side run of said strand normally gravitates, thus locking the shade against unrolling from positions to which it is rolled up, said run of said strand being manually swingable from a vertically pendant position to a position wherein it is unlocked from said recess.

2. The subject matter of claim 1, and said one bracket carrying a flange engaging one run of said strand above said recess normally holding said run interlocked therewith, said recess having a widened outer portion into which said strand may be swung to unlock it.

3. In a structure of the kind described, a shade roller bracket supporting a pulley over which a ball-carrying operating strand passes to rotate said pulley, said bracket having a horizontally extending plate portion located in a downwardly spaced relation to said pulley, said plate portion having an edge portion located approximately vertically below the front side of said pulley, there being an inwardly tapering recess cut into said edge portion and terminating in a contracted throat with which the balls carried by said strand are interlockable, and a part carried by said bracket and projecting therefrom against said strand between said pulley and recess so that said strand is normally deflected from the vertical into a locked relation to said throat.

4. The subject matter of claim 3 and said pro- 0 jecting part consisting of an arcuate flange portion carried by said bracket and having its convex side in engagement with said strand.

5. In a window shade supporting and adjusting device of the kind described, a ferrule secured around an end portion of a shade roller, the outer end of said ferrule being substantially flush with that end portion of the roller to which the ferrule is secured, said ferrule having an outwardly directed radial flange surrounding its outer end, said flange forming one side of the structure of a peripherally grooved pulley, a dish shaped member forming the opposite side of the pulley structure, said member having a centrally apertured bottom abutted against the adjacent end of said shade roller, a pin extending through the aperture in said apertured bottom and having a pointed portion extending axially into said roller to secure said dish shaped member thereto thus, in combination with said ferrule flange to complete said pulley structure, said pin having a diametrically enlarged portion which abuts the bottom of said dish shaped member to keep the latter in place.

6. In a window shade supporting and adjusting device of the kind described having a shade roller journalled between brackets and by them rotatably supported to have the shade wound r upon and unwound from it, a pulley secured axially to said roller, said pulley having a toothed peripheral groove, a flexible endless strand carrying a series of balls spaced apart therealong in correspondence with the teeth of said pulley to cooperate with the latter positively to rotate the pulley, one of the aforesaid brackets carrying a flange which is located in a radially outwardly adjacent relation to the groove of said pulley, and a link which completes said endless strand by joining terminal balls thereof to each other, said terminal balls being spaced apart in accordance with the spacing of the remaining balls carried by said strand, said link obstructing the space between said terminal balls so that when the uppermost of said terminal balls encounters the teeth of said pulley said link will be wedged between said flange and a tooth of the pulley, thus locking the pulley against rotating farther in the direction in which it is turning at such time.

7. A sheet metal bracket for supporting one end of a springless window shade roller carrying a weighted window shade windably attached thereto, comprising a piece of sheet metal having a vertically extending body portion provided with a downwardly extending apron, said apron having a forwardly directed arcuate edge, said body portion being provided with a flange directed away from the shade for attachment to a wall, an oppositely directed flange carried by the outer end portion of said body portion, said latter flange being provided with a downwardly directed resilient arcuate tongue which normally lies in the same plane as that defined by the aforesaid arcuate edge of said apron, said apron having a laterally directed horizontal flange located rearwardly of the lower end portion of said tongue, that portion of the edge of said flange which is adjacent to said tongue containing an inwardly tapering recess having in its inner part I a contracted throat portion, said horizontal flange cooperating with said recess to form a substantially enclosed passage through which to pass an operating strand to operate the shade pulley, said strand being provided with means normally to releasably interlock with said throat to hold the shade in adjusted position, the convex side of said tongue engaging said strand and normally holding it within said throat, said strand being manually swingable out of said throat into the wider part of said recess thus unlocking the strand to allow the weighted shade to gravitate to a lower position.

BENNETT SVIRSKY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

